Don’t just write, call your potential funder!

Many grant applications are submitted in an extremely formal and methodical manner. Organisations visit a funder’s website, download the application details, send a letter of inquiry, wait for a response before sending a full application if they were successful in the previous steps. Your NGO could be applying for millions of dollars over multiple years yet no one at either organisation has ever actually spoken to each other! It doesn’t need to be this way and there is a huge amount to gain from simply picking up the phone and speaking to the funding organisation directly.

Many people forget that a significant number of funder’s provide the contact details of regional and national contacts on their websites. Some of the reasons that a funding organisation wishes to speak to potential grantees include:

To clarify their funding priorities
To provide feedback on potential project suggestions
To advise potential grantees on how to improve their proposed projects
To provide assistance through the application procedure
To allow potential grantees to ask any questions they may have
To get a better understanding of potential grantees

The opportunity and value in coversing directly with a potential funding organisation doesn’t just go one way either. If a funder provides contact details for a representative on their website you should definitely take the opportunity to call them to discuss your proposed project. Some of the things that may be useful to discuss include:

To discuss a potential project application
To get feedback on particular elements of your proposed project
To clarify the application system
To ask questions about any element of the funding organisation
To discuss the funding organisation’s current priorities
To ask for advice in any area relating to your application

Funding organisations and grantee’s share one thing in particular in common, neither wish to waste their time on unsuitable grant applications. Funders do not want to take up time and resources evaluating project proposals that are inappropriate either because they do not fit in with their criteria, are incomplete or are underdeveloped. Grant making organisations would far rather spend a little time supporting grantees before they apply to ensure that only suitable and complete applications are received.

Equally, grantees are often under resourced and can not afford to invest large amounts of time and resources into completing multistage applications only to be rejected. The best chance a grantee has of ensuring they are successful is to try to speak to the funding organisation before the proposal is written. It is better to find out that your project is not suitable or to amend a particular section o your proposal than to invest tens of hours on a complex application proposal only for it to be turned down.

So get on that phone and speak to your next potential funder! Call them and discuss your organisation, what you want to do and how you want to do it. Give them an opportunity to improve your offer and give you and your organisation the best chance of being successful with your next application.

Do you include phone calls as part of your grant research? Let us know in the comments.

Related Posts: